Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. My nephew is part of tournament baseball team playing twice a day on the weekends. That week they were playing an hour away meaning those of us watching the games had a lot of sitting around and waiting to do. Luckily, they happened to be playing just a few miles away from a close cousin so between games, we stayed with her and her family and turned it into one big sleepover party.

The remains of a great night.

We had such a good time! The kids stayed busy riding four wheelers and playing outside enjoying the beautiful weather. With the kids happily occupied, the grownups were able to sit, relax, and talk. We barbequed chicken and grilled hamburgers along with fresh veggies for dinner and then s'mores for the kids and wine for the grownups for dessert.

With all the fun and just enjoying our time together, I completely forgot to get any pictures! Not until the next morning did it even occur to me. Ah well, it was such a good time so there are no regrets. Here are the pics I grabbed. This was the morning after a late night so the kids were relaxing while watching morning cartoons; about the only time they held still. Hah.

Despite going to bed between 11 and 12 the previous night, all the kids were up bright and early at 7am so us grownups sleepily dragged ourselves out of bed to make waffles and cereal for breakfast. Shockingly, Christian slept until 9 but Alena slept all the way up to 10!

After breakfast, the few of us who were going to the second day of tournament games headed out while the rest stayed behind to relax and play. My nephew's team won their first game! But with only a 20 minute rest before their second game and playing the previous year's champs, they couldn't rally for a second win. So we headed back to the house for lunch, naps, and a little more playtime before heading home.

My nephew batting.

My nephew also pitches.

My bro-in-law and nephew doing some father and son napping. :)

All three kids fell asleep on the way home after an awesome weekend. Success!
How was your Memorial Day?

Memorial Not Quite Weekend

While most people celebrated Memorial Day on the weekend from Friday to Monday, we did things a little different.

We wanted to go camping, but since there is pretty much ONE good lake around here, we knew it would be packed to the max. So we decided to avoid the crowds and go from Monday to Wednesday. So much better! There was still plenty of people there but the throngs of families and teens were gone. Most of what was left were older retired couples so it was quiet and the kids could ride their bikes without fear of getting hit by crazy drivers.

Monday started off rough with a dead battery in the RV that needed replacing. After we got the RV started, a pipe in the sink decided to burst! There was water spraying out into the RV so what do you know... another trip to the store to replace that. We got it fixed and go figure the generator that would power the fridge and air conditioner on the way up wouldn't start! ARGH! We decided to forgo getting that fixed since the RV could still drive and that was most important.

We left around 5pm (we wanted to be there at 2!) but the 1-1 1/2 hour trip took us over 2 hours! Something was pulling power from the battery as we drove so the brand spanking new battery died THREE times on the way up there! Thank God Gabe thought to bring the portable car charger and we were able to make the trip. Talk about a horrible way to start a vacation!

Tuesday was a great day. We had a late breakfast and then dessert from the shop there. Dessert after breakfast is perfectly acceptable on vacation. :) The kids had been begging us to go swimming so the beach was our next destination. Gabe took the kids to the water while I stayed in the shade with Noah.

Lake in the desert with mountains as the backdrop.

Noah fell asleep so I folded a towel and put him on the picnic table. That gave me a chance to actually READ! Yes, read a book! I rarely make time or get to read.

After swimming, we headed back to eat lunch and start on dinner. The kids rode their bikes and relaxed a little in the air conditioning of the RV. When dinner was done and cleaned up, we went for an evening walk. It was a little later than I wanted so I didn't get the good sunset pics I was hoping for.

The last minute before darkness set in.

We spent the next morning packing up and getting everything ready to leave. It was much hotter that day but I wanted to go on one more walk/bike ride. It was a quick walk and I got some cute photos of the kids on this really tall and steep bridge over the lake.

The next photos were taken from the top of the bridge.

Our shadows. From left to right, Alena, Christian, myself, and Gabe (holding Noah).

Yes, my husband babywears and I love it!

Where the sunset picture was taken from the previous night.

Once we were ready to go, we strapped the kids into their seats and they were all out before we could even start!

We were not moving yet and I did adjust Noah's straps before going. I wanted to get the picture in case he woke up.

I'd say after a rough start, our mini vacation turned out pretty good! And the RV made the trip home without any problems!